Mike Bello , Sports Editor
The Behrend Beacon
Calendar
of Events
Behrend
Athletic
Events
Saturday
Indoor Track and Field
@ Slippery Rock Univer
sity 9 a.m.
Men’s and Women’s
Swimming
Penn State Altoona
Junker Center
1 p.m.
Women’s Basketball
Alumni Game
Junker Center
2:30 p.m.
Men’s Basketball
Alumni Game
Junker Center
4 p.m.
Women’s Basketball
La Roche
Junker Center
6 p.m.
Men’s Basketball
La Roche
Junker Center
8 p.m.
Monday
Women’s Basketball
@ Grove City
7 p.m.
Wednesday
Men’s Basketball
@ Medaille
7:30 p.m.
Saturday Feb. 16
Men’s Tennis
vs. Allegheny/Mercyhursl
@ Westwood
1 and 5 p.m.
Women’s Basketball'
Pitt-Greensburg
Junker Center
6 p.m.
Men’s Basketball
Pitt-Greensburg
Junker Center
8 p.m.
Intramurals
Schedule
Friday Feb. 15
Intramural Swimming:
Men’s and Women’s, and
3oed Individual and Team;
$l/event - $3 minimum,
$5 maximum
Friday Feb. 22
Intramural 4 vs. 4 Coed
Volleyball; $3
Pick-up Volleyball
Erie Hall every Tuesday
and Thursday from 6:30-
8:30 p.m.
All entries must be at the
intramural office
by 4 p.m.
on the scheduled date
Phillips, Behrend surpass Demski, Altoona
Lions must win out and hope for one more Altoona loss to host AMCC
by Mike Bello
sports editor
Senior Erin Phillips established
another career highlight last Saturday
against Frostburg, while the Lions
moved closer to establishing
themselves as the team to beat in the
AMCC. Phillips scored 29 points
against the Bobcats to surpass Rick
Demski’s all-time points record.
Behrend, on the other hand, moved
to 8-2 in the AMCC - one-half game
ahead of Penn State Altoona - with
two conference games remaining.
With 4:21 left to play, Frostbutg’s
Kim Faust sent Phillips to the free
throw line for two. After sinking the
first shot, Phillips sank her second to
tie Demski at 1,466 points. After Faust
made a layup, Phillips, with an assist
from sophomore Erica Mozdy, made
a layup with 3:55 left to become No.
1 on the scoring list - men and
women.
“I didn’t think I would break the
record in Frostburg,” said Phillips,
who has never met Demski. “It was a
surprise to me when they announced
it during the game. I was happy, I
guess, but kind of relieved that it was
over.
“The entire team has been very
supportive throughout the whole time.
Their support means a lot to me and
to have them cheering for me was
great. I think it is something we can
all celebrate together because each of
them had a part in it.”
The other players were more
excited than Phillips.
“The team is extremely proud of
Erin being the all-time scoring
Lions rebound from worst defeat of season
by Zoe Rose
staff writer
The Penn State Behrend Lions visited Cleve
land Wednesday night to face Lake Erie Col
lege in what was a crucial Allegheny Mountain
Collegiate Conference game. With a recent loss
to Frostburg State University (80-50), the Li
ons needed a comeback win to keep their con
ference title hopes alive.
With a 70-56 win against the Storm in a pre
vious meeting already under their belt, the Blue
and White defeated the Storm again, 74-54. The
first half saw Lake Erie shoot 27.6 percent (8-
of-29) while the Lions converted on 10-of-25
from the floor (40.0 percent). Determination
filled the Lions as they bolted off the courts at
halftime with a cushioning 37-24 lead.
The second-half performance was key for the
win as the Lions overcame their 40 percent
shooting in the first with a solid 46.2 percent in
the second. James Curren made 26 points in
the game, followed by Tom Lulich with 12.
Steve Merrill and Casey Ponsoll pitched in with
eight a piece. The Blue and White remain in
third place in the AMCC with a 7-3 record and
14-7 overall.
The Lions took on Frostburg State last Satur
day afternoon in a battle against conference ri
vals. The Bobcats controlled both ends of the
court as they quickly pulled out to a 26-6 lead at
the 9-minute mark. The home team shot a domi
nating 59.6 percent (31 -of-52) in the game and
limited the Lions to 16-of-46 field goals (34.8
Men’s swim team dominates Nazareth at home
by Kate Levdansky Petrikis
assistant sports editor
The men’s swimming team earned
its second win of the season
Wednesday. The Lions beat Nazareth
139-60 in a meet full of record
breaking times.
Tom Vignolini set a new team and
pool record in the three-meter diving,
and Casey Doody set a new team
record in the 50 back.
“It was the first time this year that
we beat a team easily, not the other
way around,” said coach Josh Heynes.
“The rest of the team continued to
have fast swims which means we
should taper well next week in
preparation for conference.”
The women’s swim team lost 124-
75. However, Christine Wiliams was
a highlight for the Lions, setting new
team records in the 100 back and the
200IM.
“Again, good swims all around for
the team,” said Heynes. “We trained
hard last night and swam well the next
day. We should be on track for taper
SPORTS
Friday, February 8, 2002
leader,” said senior Christine
Chamock. “We are all ‘Phillips fans’.”
“Erin’s record is a great
accomplishment for her and her
teammates,” said senior Kate
Costanzo. “She broke the all-time
record on an ‘and one’ basket at
Frostbuig and finished with 29 points.
I’d say that is an awesome way to
break a record.”
Phillips had one of the best games
by a Lion all season Saturday, hitting
10-of-15 field goals and 9-of-10 free
throws in an 80-61 win. Not to be
outdone, Costanzo hit 9-of-12 from
the field for 22 points, giving her 949
in her career.
Chamock added 14 points and
Mozdy dished out a season-high nine
assists. The Lions built up a 36-24
lead at the half after shooting 50
percent from the floor. Behrend shot
49.2 percent overall and made 17-of
-23 foul shots (73.9 percent).
“We have had some good wins and
are having a lot of fun playing,” said
Costanzo. “We’re playing some good
team basketball now and that will help
us out down the final stretch.”
On Wednesday, Behrend traveled
west to Cleveland to battle Lake Erie,
a team it beat by 32 a month ago. The
Lions’ post play once again was
dominant in an 81-65 win. Phillips
shot 8-of-13 from the floor and 10-
of-11 from the foul line for 26 points.
Phillips, who now has 1,498 points,
has scored 20 or more points in six of
the last eight games.
Chamock and Costanzo, Behrend’s
other two post players, added 18 and
14 points, respectively. With three
games left, not counting playoffs,
PHOTO BY JEFF HANKEY / BEHREND BEACON
Sophomore James Curren shoots over a Pitt-
Bradford opponent last week while James
Curren awaits the outcome. The Lions suffered
a 30-point loss to Frostburg in their next game
before defeating Lake Erie on Wednesday.
percent). Frostburg stretched its lead to 23 points as
the Bobcats ended the half up 39-16.
“The whole team was upset by the way we played,”
time next week.”
Behrend’s next meet is Saturday
against rival Penn State Altoona.
Heynes expects an easy victory for
bodi squads.
“Penn State Altoona should be a
walk through for both of our teams,”
said Heynes. “They are not very deep
in any events. They have a few fast
people but nothing spectacular after
that.”
Heynes said the Lions are going to
try to play around with the line up and
let people swim some off or swim
other events they usually don’t. This
will be the last time Behrend will race
before conferences, and it is the last
home meet of the season. Normally,
this would be senior night, but since
the team does not have any seniors, it
will just be another meet for the Lions.
“All we have to do to win this meet
is show up,” said Heynes.
With the Grove City Invitational
and AMCC championships coming
around the comer, the conferences are
in the Lions’ minds all the time now.
“We need to focus on what each
Costanzo needs only 37 points, or 13
per game, to break the 1,000-point
plateau. Chamock also added a team
high seven rebounds and six assists.
Mozdy contributed nine points on the
night.
“We are all very confident of one
another and keep encouraging each
other to keep pushing themselves,”
said senior Katie Weigold. “We all
remind each other that these games
up are very important.”
Behrend avoided foul trouble
throughout the game, sending the
Storm to the line only 10 times. Lake
Erie sank only five of those shots,
while Behrend converted on 15-of-24
opportunities. The Lions needed
every one of those points, as Lake Erie
shot 55.8 percent from the floor
compared to Behrend’s 50 percent.
With the win, the Lions improved to
12-10 on the year, and have won eight
of their last 10 games.
Behrend still has a chance to host
the AMCCs starting Feb. 20, but must
rely on Altoona losing one more
game. On Wednesday, the Altoona
Lions defeated La Roche, a 49-43
winner over Altoona on Jan. 9,91-70.
Even if Behrend gets the No. 1 seed
because another team knocked off
Altoona, the players will still feel they
earned it.
“If we would host the tournament
it would be because we were in first
place,” said Chamock. “It wouldn’t
matter who beat us or who we beat to
get there.”
The Lions return home for a 6 p.m.
game against La Roche on Saturday
and then hit the road one last time for
a game at Grove City on Monday.
person is going to swim and where
we can get points,” said Heynes.
“They not only have to swim fast in
the morning, but they have to swim
fast to get back and do it again at finals
at night.”
Swimming the same events more
than once a day can be tiring for the
swimmers, and Heynes knows this
will severely test the Lions’
capabilities.
“It is tough when you have to swim
all out once, but to do it twice takes a
lot out of you,” he said. “Then on top
of that, add two more days of events,
it can take even the best swimmers
out of their game. We just have to hit
our taper and be mentally tough, then
show up and let the races happen.”
Heynes has seen some drastic
improvement from the beginning of
the year, which is expected from a
team that is still stepping through the
door into college swimming circles
“For the most part, I am proud of
the team we have going, and we are
far and above better than we were last
year,” said Heynes. “Sure we had our
PHOTOS BY JEFF HANKEY AND MIKE BELLO / BEHREND BEACON
As one milestone is reached, another approaches. Erin Phillips, right,
surpassed Rick Demski’s record of 1,466 points and currently has 1,498
after scoring 26 on Wednesday. Kate Costanzo, left, is 37 points away
from 1,000. Only six players have ever scored 1,000 points.
With only one other game left after
Grove City, the Lions are heading into
tune-up mode for the playoffs.
“We are always improving [on]
cutting down our turnovers and our
defense,” said Phillips. “We work on
defense a lot each day in
practice... The other stuff will come if
our defense is working.”
“I think it’s very important to pick
up some steam heading into the
playoffs,” said Weigold. “You want
to be playing your best ball at the end
of the season, and I think we are
coming around nicely.”
said coach Dave Niland. “We have to put it be
hind us. We have a great deal of basketball to
play, we cannot get bogged down with past fail
ures other than learning from them.”
Down at the half against a tough conference
team away is not the easiest task to accomplish.
The Lions found out how true this can be. Sev
eral times Frostburg State expanded to a3l -point
lead. The Lions never roared back as the Bob
cats continued to dominate in all aspects of the
game, leading 60-30 with 11:43 to play. The Li
ons ended the contest down by the same margin,
80-50.
Curren was the only Lion to score in double
digits, finishing with 19 points and six rebounds.
Next up was Merrill with seven points and three
assists.
“Frostburg shot the ball very well early and
we struggled,” said Niland. “You can’t do that
on the road against good teams.”
The Bobcats (7-2 AMCC) fended off Pitt-
Greensburg Wednesday and have a decisive
AMCC clash against the No. 1 team in the league,
Pitt-Bradford, on Saturday.
“The team works very hard everyday and re
ally that is [our] only goal: get better with each
day,” said Niland. “If we do that the rest takes
care of itself.”
The Lions will host an alumni game this Sat
urday at 4 p.m. followed by another tough league
game against La Roche at 8 p.m. The Lions play
their last non-conference game on Wednesday
at Medaille at 7:30 p.m.
issues, hating morning practice,
weekend training, petty fights, etc.,
but that is what every team goes
through and it will continue to happen.
As long as we can look beyond it and
have one main focus and that is to get
people to conference and to get to
NCAA, we can be successful.”
Sophomore Tara Braden swims the freestyle on Wednesday against
Nazareth at the Junker Center. The women lust thru mni't, il’4 but
the men won their second of the year, 139-60.
behrcolls@aol.com
Housing
and
Food Service
Athlete
of the Week
pennState
g Brie
Jessica
Sarver
Sarver led the
Behrend Lions in the
Fredonia State Invita
tional last Saturday
while breaking two
records. She placed
first in the 1500-meter
run with a time of
5:17.40 and contrib
uted to a first place
finish in the 4 x 800
relay with a time of
10:48.49. Sarver, a
freshman from Free
port, also took second
place in the 800 run.
The Blue and White's
next meet will be on
Saturday at 9 a.m. when
they compete in the
Slippery Rock Invita
tional.
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